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The ongoing game of musical chairs among top data center executives continues. Dean Nelson, who has been a key player in data center operations at Sun Microsystems, has left to take a position at eBay, where he will be the Senior Director of Global Data Strategy, Architecture and Operations. Dean announced the change on his blog at Data Center Pulse, where he is a co-founder. Nelson's shift follows the departure of Olivier Sanche, who recently left eBay to head data center operations at Apple.

In other recent executive moves, Michael Manos moved from Microsoft to Digital Realty Trust, and Kevin Timmons shifted from Yahoo to Microsoft.

"I am very excited to help eBay achieve its vision of the future," Dean writes. "I am absolutely on-board and ready to rumble. I'm also excited about what this means for Data Center Pulse. We're killing two birds with one stone here. The work that I am responsible for in eBay, is perfectly aligned with the industry efforts we are pushing for in DCP. We will be accelerating our efforts and uniting end-users to drive innovation and direct the future of the datacenter market."

"When the official announcement came through that Oracle intended to purchase Sun, it caused many people to rethink their future," Nelson wrties. "I have always believed that if I am challenged in my job, being stretched to continuously learn, have a solid team, executive support, and of course good compensation, there isn't a reason to look for something else. But with uncertainty, I also believed it was prudent to see what options were out there."